BOSTON CHINATOWN ATLAS

The Boston Chinatown Atlas is a collaborative project led by MIT Professor Emeritus Tunney Lee, David Chang, Randall Imai, Jonathan Wyss, Kelly Sandefer, Kye Liang, Chinese Historical Society of New England, Chinatown Lantern Cultural and Educational Center, UMass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies, and many former MIT alumni and community members. The project documents and explores Chinatown’s growth and change through time as told by personal stories, photos, maps, and interactive features on the website.

Boston’s Chinatown serves as the economic, social, and cultural center for one of the fastest growing populations in Massachusetts. The project and the website seeks to understand and tell the story of Chinatown’s history, dynamics, and context, and to encourage future generations to appreciate the traditions and to preserve the community’s vitality. The Chinatown Atlas concept originated more than 20-years ago between Tunney Lee and Randall Imai through a series illustrations of Chinatown.

The project hosted a panel exhibit at the former Chinatown Lantern reading room library in 2012 and the Kwong Kow Chinese School at 87 Tyler St. Imai’s illustrations were exhibited at the Boston Public Library Leventhal Map Center in 2014. The content, photos, and illustrations are all available here on the website. This website complements the work of the Chinese Historical Society of New England, whose mission is to document, preserve, and promote the history and legacy of the Chinese community in New England.

Contributors
Beehive Mapping
Chinese Historical Society of New England
Chinatown Lantern Cultural and Educational Center
MIT School of Architecture and Planning
MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning
IKM Architects
UMass Boston Institute of Asian American Studies
Tunney Lee
David Chang
Randall Imai
Kye Liang
Jonathan Wyss
Kelly Sandefer
Joan Chen
Stephanie Fan
Tien-yi Lee
Bob Gourley

Contact: Tunney Lee tflee@mit.edu